I am a miserable nurse.

During the Halloween season, there was a three day break but I was not given any days off.

Upset, I decided to join a game featuring a haunted hospital.

There was an old man wrapped in IV tubes chasing after a player.

I sprinted forward and shoved him into the chair. After effortlessly jabbing the IV line back in him, I told him off, "It’s just an IV drip, not an action movie. Sit. Down. Move again and I’ll strap you to the chair!"

The old man did a double take before blinking in a flustered manner. "Sorry for causing you trouble, ma'am."

At night, children ghosts began to run and laugh wildly in the corridor.

I grabbed one in each hand and hauled them up. "If you’re not going to stay put in the ward, I’ll give you an injection!"

Why did I still have to work in a game? I was so tired.

The other players cried out, "Clem! That's a ghost. Are you not scared?"

I sneered, "Sorry, but burnt-out workers hold more grudges than ghosts ever could."

"Welcome to the Hospital of the Dead.

"Current Session Number: 20

"Sixteen years ago, the hospital was abandoned. However, some people report seeing the lights being turned on at night and how it appears to be bustling with people. Doctors and patients, who had died a long time ago, would appear again…

"Quest: You have seven days to find out what happened sixteen years ago in the abandoned hospital.

"Enjoy the game, and remember, the earlier you die, the earlier you will be reincarnated."

After hearing an eerie electronic chime, I was spawned in the outpatient hall of a hospital.

At first glance, it looked just like my workplace in real life, only a little more worn down. The walls were stained yellow while the dim lights above flickered.

All around me were players who were also spawned here like I was. By the looks of it, they had arrived before me and had already formed their cliques. They eyed me warily.

The last time I found myself surrounded like this was when a patient bled out after I removed a needle. The patient's family had been upset and demanded an explanation, refusing to let me go.

Surely I wouldn’t have to deal with something like that even in a game, would I?

Please, no more! I’m just a poor soul who got the unlucky end of the draw and got three night shifts in a row during Halloween season.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, in a spectator stream above us, there was a barrage of comments.

"What's going on? Is she an NPC or a player?"

"She has to be an NPC. Look, her clothes look just like the ones the NPCs are wearing."

"She came out of the player tunnel, didn’t she? There are twenty players, including her."

"What kind of moron would dress up as an NPC? Does she truly think that gives her an edge in surviving? Careful she doesn’t end up as bait for the boss."

A player, who looked like the leader of the group, eyed me warily. "Are you a player too? Why are you dressed like that?"

Heh. Here it came.

I had to deal with the nursing departments breathing down my neck, conducting spontaneous inspections every day.

He wanted to instigate me? Not a chance!

"Undershirt, no skin exposed! Hairnet, check! And last but not least, white socks, check!"

The leader suddenly remarked, "Your hat is crooked."

I was struck speechless for a moment.

The system was setting me up!

"Wait, there’s no reason I should be bickering about this with you! You’re insane!"

After all, there was no nursing department breathing here.

"Now that we’re all here, let's start searching for clues in pairs. It’s safer that way."

Then, a girl in a white dress timidly tugged at the leader to get his attention. "Are we sure she’s not a ghost? She’s dressed in such a creepy getup. I don't want to be in a group with her."

I was fixing my nurse’s cap when I heard the audacious comment.

How dare she! My outfit was polished enough to pass any inspection. Even the Nursing Department would not have any qualms about it!

What a tasteless bunch.

The others began to shun me upon hearing the girl’s remark as well.

With that, they formed pairs with a single outlier group of three, effectively ostracizing me.

"She deserves it! It’s her fault nobody wants to team up with her."

"Everybody knows you’re screwed if you get left all alone in a horror game."

"I bet she’ll be the first to die tonight!"

"So be it."

The leader, who was heading the single trio group, got everyone’s attention with a cough, then announced, "There’s nothing here at the spawn point. My group is going to the IV infusion room next door. Everyone else, split up!"

Then, he glanced at me. "You. Come with us, but don’t get too close."

"The leader seems like a decent guy. At least, he didn't abandon her."

"Aaron Meyer is our guild's ace and has always been a great guy."

With that, I followed the three of them to the adjacent room.

As soon as I entered, a chilly breeze made me shiver.

Hm?

Who set the temperature so low? The patients were sick enough as it was; they were going to end up with pneumonia!

I was about to turn up the temperature when Aaron suddenly cried out, "Oh crap! The room is haunted! Get out!"

At the same time, I heard the voice of an elderly man ring out in my ears, "Be a good girl and keep me company. I’m so lonely…"

When I turned around, I saw an old man clothed in thin fabric rising shakily from an IV infusion chair. He came towards me but ended up tripping over a cable.

"What are you standing there for? Run!"

"But, the door... the door is locked... It won’t open…"

"Ram the door open! We’re dead if he latches onto us! Hey, hey, newbie, what are you doing? Are you insane? If you've got a death wish, don’t drag us down with you!"

I ignored their frantic cries and sprinted over to the old man. Mustering the same strength I used to hoist oxygen tanks weighing up to fifty kilograms, I shoved the old man back into the chair.

Within a few seconds, I managed to reinsert the IV needle that had been yanked loose from his arm when he got up.

The old man seemed flabbergasted. He froze for a moment before trying to get up again to remove the needle.

That was when my anger tipped over. I shoved him back into the chair and snapped, "It’s just an IV drip, not an action movie. Stop moving around! If you keep moving, you won't be able to use your hands, and don’t even think about blaming me for not warning you about this when your hand swells tomorrow! That’s enough. Sit tight and don’t even think about going anywhere until the infusion is done! If you need to use the toilet, just call me!"

Seriously, what was up with these patients pulling the needle out?

The hospital was unbelievable as well. They must have lost it to leave an elderly patient alone in the room for an IV infusion.

Rule number one of nursing: Always keep a close eye on patients receiving IV infusions to prevent accidents.

The old man blinked sporadically. "Sorry for causing trouble, miss…"

I smiled. "It's okay, sir. Just sit tight now, I’ll monitor the IV infusion and let you know once it’s done."

Then, I turned off the fan that had been blasting cold air the entire time before draping a blanket over the old man. I carefully set a heat pad under his arm and turned on the television before checking the flow rate of the infusion.

After attending to these tasks, I turned around to see the stunned trio looking at me.

I could do this with my eyes closed.

"Aren't you... scared?"

The comment section went wild.

"What’s going on? The ghost is supposed to ask the player if there is something wrong with him, and if you can’t answer, he strangles you with the IV infusion cable! Go on, ask the question!"

"Hey, nurse... what's wrong with me? Why haven’t I recovered?"

"There you go. He asked the question! I told you. There is no way it plays out differently."

I smiled. "It's just a minor fever; nothing to worry about. After the infusion is done, take some medicine and you’ll be fine. Make sure you stay warm, too. It’s easy to catch a cold when the seasons change."

"She has to be making it up. I don’t believe that."

"Well, she did read the label on the IV bag…"

"Nobody can read a doctor's handwriting…"

"Hey, that’s a little mean. Besides, I think she really is a nurse…"

"Oh, just a fever? Alright, I’ll let you get back to your duties and call you over if I need anything."

"Boss, the door is open! Let’s get out of here!"

I made eye contact with the leader.

"Who are you, really?"

I stammered for a moment.

Well...I was a workhorse who had to slave away.

After attending to the old man, I sat down at the nurses' desk to investigate the scattered documents.

"Girl, are you here for the quest, or are you here to clock in for work?"

"Maybe there are some clues here."

The leader considered for a moment before ordering, "Let’s stay here. Go help her look for clues since it’s safe here for now."

"But…"

"If you're scared, you’re free to leave. Either way, there’s no way you can leave without finding clues first."

I quickly went through the documents on the desk and in the cabinet.

I was closely examining the doctor's order sheets, the IV infusion logs, as well as the working shift records.

As I was going through the documents, I caught a flash of something white in the corner of my eye. When I looked up, all I saw was a blurry figure.

"Night shift handover. 300 patients, 0 discharges, 0 transfers out, a single death, 0 new admissions, and 0 transfers in. Current patient total: 299…"

It was the year the hospital was abandoned.

After going through the information, I had one primary concern.

The entire hospital admitted no new patients for the entire year. Meanwhile, the existing patients were not discharged or transferred but were left to die one after another until the patient count reached zero.

This was abnormal.

I inspected the doctor's order sheet again.

"88 units of glycerin suppositories used in nebulizers."

"500 milliliters of saline, 15 grams of potassium chloride"

"4 liters of blood collected."

"1,000 bottles of saline IV drip."

Rule number two of nursing: If the doctor issues questionable orders, defy them.

Was that how the three hundred patients were all killed? By these ridiculous medical orders?

I looked at the records again. Its contents were very disorganized. There were countless lines written in frantic handwriting.

"He's back."

"I was wrong."

"Let me go."

Before I could make sense of it, the old man called out to me, "Nurse, please help me remove the needle."

"Sure."

I hurriedly got up and went to attend to him while the others continued going through the files at the desk.

"Great, thank you." Then, he suddenly blurted out an offhand remark, "If only they had given me antibiotics back then…"

"What did you say?"

I removed the IV needle without a drop of blood.

"I can't say more. Dawn is near. I have to go."

The old man's body became ever transparent at this point. Before he disappeared, he gave me a sober look before leaving one last remark, "Inpatient Department."

It was only then that I realized daylight had spilled through the windows of the room. The sky was brightening.

"The flow of time inside the game is different from what it is in real life. During the day, it is safe in the game, but that also means no clues will show up since anomalies only appear at night. The longer we stay in the game, the shorter the day becomes until the eternal night eventually takes over. We’ll be stuck here forever when that happens.

"We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Aaron Meyers. I can tell you’re very competent. I think we can team up and beat the game together."

"I’m Clementine Spark."

The other two players still sounded distrustful. "She must have just gotten lucky. Why is she acting all high and mighty? She’s just a nurse."

I sneered.

Just a nurse?

We nurses were a three-in-one package of special forces, high-value nannies, and efficient maids, all at the cost of cheap labor.